Department for Transport

Public Transport

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish an evaluation of the Total Transport pilot schemes.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The 37 Total Transport pilot schemes formally came to an end in 2017. The Department is now analysing the results and will consider their communication shortly.

Road Works: Fees and Charges

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) the roll-out of broadband fibre to (i) households and (ii) other buildings, (b) electric vehicle charging points and (c) major housebuilding programmes will be exempt from lane rental scheme charges.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department uses to  approve a local authority’s application for a lane rental scheme.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is a cap on lane rental scheme charges for major works to (a) install and (b) replace apparatus.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) discounts and (c) fee waivers from lane rental schemes are available for joint works; and what definition his Department uses for joint works.

Jesse Norman: The Department announced in February 2018 that it would develop bidding guidance later this year for authorities that want to set up lane rental schemes. It also announced that approval will be subject to certain conditions. These include that authorities must have a well-run permit scheme in place; schemes would apply to an authorities’ own works; charges should be used to encourage certain behaviour e.g. more joint works; and schemes should be trialled for a period of time. Finally, it would like to see authorities put in place caps for some major works so that these are not unfairly penalised. The relevant legislation allows local authorities to charge up to £2,500 per day on the busiest roads at the busiest times. Authorities can offer discounts and waive charges in certain circumstances.

Road Works: Fees and Charges

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether lane rental scheme charges will apply to street works undertaken by the Highways Agency.

Jesse Norman: Lane rental applies to works on the local road network and can be set up and operated by local highway authorities. Charges apply to street works carried out by utility companies and can be applied to highway road works carried out by local authorities. It will not apply for Highways England.

Northern: Fines

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Northern has been fined for cancellations and partial cancellations since Arriva took over that franchise.

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Network Rail has paid out to Northern in compensation for cancellations since Arriva took over that franchise.

Joseph Johnson: At the end of each Franchisee Year the Department, in accordance with the Franchise Agreement, will calculate the Performance Sum payable by the Secretary of State to the Franchisee or required to be incurred by the Franchisee, these are known as Performance Sum Payments. Where following calculation of the Cancellations Performance Sum, the TOC Minute Delay Performance Sum and/or the Short Formation Performance Sum, the Franchisee is required to incur expenditure, the Franchisee shall incur expenditure equal to the amount for each to secure improvement to the Franchisee's performance in that area to meet its targets, this is known as Required Performance Improvement.

Northern: Industrial Disputes

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings he has had with trades union representatives in respect of the ongoing Northern industrial dispute.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport has not met with trade union representatives in respect with the ongoing Northern industrial dispute. This dispute is between the unions and the train operator, however the Government has been doing all it can to ensure passenger disruption is minimised. Ministers have met with the leadership of ASLEF and RMT to discuss wider ranging issues.

Northern: Standards

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Northern services have been cancelled due to staffing issues in each month since Arriva took over that franchise.

Joseph Johnson: The Department does not hold this level of information. Cancellation information provided to the Department by the Train operators are at a total percentage per period basis.

Department for Transport: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Since the introduction of the shared parental leave scheme on 5th April 2015, the Department (including Central Department and Executive Agencies) have recorded 25 male staff having taken shared parental leave with an average leave length of 89.83 days.

Midland Main Railway Line

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) availability and (b) efficiency of (i) wi-fi and (ii) telephone signals on the Midland main line route.

Joseph Johnson: The Department has taken steps to improve wifi on rail services by putting in place requirements for the provision of wifi in franchise agreements. The Midland main line route is largely served by East Midlands, Cross Country and Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchises. These franchisees are implementing the requirement to have wifi available to passengers. The availability of phone signal on the rail network is led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Work is underway by Ofcom to survey the availability of mobile signal on the rail network. We expect the first publication to be later this year.

Blue Badge Scheme

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a temporary Blue Badge scheme for people with temporary but debilitating and incapacitating injuries and conditions.

Jesse Norman: The Department did examine this as part of the wider Blue Badge reform programme but took the decision not to extend eligibility to people with temporary disabilities as this would have put at risk the sustainability of the scheme. The Department has issued local authorities with advice on how they can use existing powers to provide locally determined parking concessions within their areas such as provision of badges to those with temporary conditions. The advice provided can be viewed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/people-with-severe-temporary-impairments-advice-to-local-authorities

Motor Vehicles: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of LPG vehicles in reducing levels of air pollution.

Jesse Norman: The environmental performance of LPG in vehicles has been analysed using the Transport Energy Model (TEM), developed by the Department. The model estimates energy consumption and environmental emissions for road transport technology options over the period to 2050, and compares various vehicle powertrain technology and fuel options for cars, vans, buses and HGVs. The output of this analysis will be included in the zero emission road transport strategy, which is due to be published shortly.

Regional Airports

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK's regional airports have the ability to increase their capacity over the next decade.

Jesse Norman: The UK’s airports are either owned and operated by commercial private sector companies or are public/private partnerships which operate commercially. It is for the airports’ owners and operators to make the business decisions to invest in strategies to develop their capacity. Airports that wish to invest in new infrastructure will need to submit applications to the relevant planning authority for consideration.

Official Cars: Hydrogen

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to introduce more hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to its service fleet.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government Car Service (GCS) is currently evaluating a hydrogen fuel cell car to determine fitness for purpose under operational conditions. The restrictions on range, refuelling and passenger capacity will be considerations for this type of car as the fleet is renewed. GCS are committed to meeting the target announced in the autumn budget that 25% of cars in central government will be ultra-low emission by 2022.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Garages and Petrol Stations

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on the number and proportion of petrol stations which sell LPG fuel.

Jesse Norman: We do not hold information on the number or proportion of petrol stations that sell LPG fuel in the UK.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Cooperatives

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department makes available for new community energy co-operatives.

Claire Perry: This Government is committed to empowering communities and these projects, which put local people in the driving seat, are an important part of a clean, secure and affordable energy system.To deliver this ambition, we announced a new Local Energy Programme in the Clean Growth Strategy and to date have committed £7m with a further £1m allocated for this year. This will support communities in all their forms, alongside Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships, to design and develop low carbon projects locally.Since 2013, the UK Government has committed over £16 million to support community energy, including:the £15m Rural Community Energy Fund, which continues to offer support and development finance for community-scale renewable energy projects in England;a local authority best practice community energy programme with Bristol City, supporting Greater Manchester through their Devolution deal and working with London on their community energy funds; andsupporting the Community Energy Hub, a digital platform owned and run by the community energy sector to enable peer networking and knowledge transfer.

Self-employed

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress the Government has made on implementation of the recommendations Julie Deane MBE's Self Employment Review; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Griffiths: Matthew Taylor took the recommendations made in Julie Deane’s review into account when he carried his own Review of Modern Employment Practices, commissioned by my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 1st October 2016. Mr Taylor’s review considered the implications of new forms of work, driven by digital platforms, for employee rights and responsibilities, employer freedoms and obligations, and our existing regulatory framework surrounding employment. The Government published its response to the review on 7 February 2018, including its Good Work Plan for taking forward the recommendations on employment policy and legislation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Richard Harrington: Since the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (July 2016), 35 of our male employees have taken Shared Parental Leave. The average length of Shared Parental Leave taken by those male employees has been 90 days.

Hydrogen

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to introduce an equivalent of the Faraday Challenge for hydrogen.

Mr Sam Gyimah: A range of relevant challenges proposed by industry, some focussed on hydrogen, are being considered by UK Research and Innovation at present in response to their call for Expressions of Interest in wave 3 of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Regional Planning and Development: North of England

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for funding through the Northern Powerhouse have been (a) received and (b) successfully awarded by local authority district in each month since January 2015.

Andrew Griffiths: Holding answer received on 22 May 2018



Table 1 (copy attached) shows the distribution of 2690 ‘applications received’ by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) and the 258 ‘successfully awarded investments or loans’ by Local Authority District from March 2017 to March 2018. Of the applications received, 286 were from outside of the Northern Powerhouse area, but could have been eligible if the applicants were willing to relocate to the area or conduct “significant business” there. Please note, the NPIF became operational in March 2017, so there is no data for the Fund before that date.Table 2 (also in the attached) shows in £million the sums awarded to the eleven Northern Powerhouse LEPs as Growth Deals for the period 2015-2021. The full award came to £3,435.41m. 



Northern Powerhouse funding data
(Word Document, 70.36 KB)

Industry: Finance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding (a) has been invested since the 2017 General Election and (b) is planned to be invested through the Government's Industrial Strategy  in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales, and (iv) Northern Ireland.

Richard Harrington: More than £6 billion has been committed as part of the launch of the Government’s Industrial Strategy in November, including £725m as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s second wave. The Department does not hold a comprehensive breakdown of figures for each nation. Our Industrial Strategy is about boosting productivity and earning power throughout the United Kingdom, and the investments that the UK Government are making, and will go on to make, are spread throughout all four nations. Investments from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund include the Faraday Institution in England, the three Robotics and Autonomous Systems hubs in Edinburgh, the Midlands & Wales and the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre and AppAtic in Belfast. In future, the new Strength in Places Fund will also support areas throughout the UK to build on their science and innovation strengths. Investment in digital infrastructure in all four nations also includes full-fibre awards for the Highlands, Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff and support for innovative 5G testbeds in Perthshire, Monmouthshire and Liverpool.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nigeria: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the requirement for government and public bodies to reflect the federal character of the county under its constitution, what reports he has received on the ethnic and religious diversity in the (a) leadership and (b) general personnel of the security forces of Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin: We do not collect statistics or monitor the ethnic or religious diversity of the Nigerian Armed Forces. However, we do know that the Nigerian military recruits on a national basis and that state quotas for an estimated 167,000 active personnel are rigidly adhered to.

Venezuela: Elections

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Government of Venezuela on safeguards to ensure that the forthcoming elections in that country are free, fair and transparent.

Sir Alan Duncan: On 21 May, following the announcement of the election results, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement expressing his disappointment that the elections, which were not free, fair, or credible, had taken place.

Syria: Kurds

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Prime Minister has had with the Turkish President on that country's involvement in the humanitarian crisis in Kurdish Northern Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK is committed to supporting efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Syria. In our engagement with Turkey at all levels, we regularly highlight the need for protection of civilians, freedom of movement for those caught up in violence, and the urgent need for full and unhindered humanitarian access. We are clear that displaced individuals must be allowed to return home peacefully if they wish to do so. The Prime Minister discussed these issues with President Erdogan during his recent visit to the UK.

Sri Lanka: Diplomatic Service

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2018 to Question 128965 on Sri Lanka: Diplomatic Service, what discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart since the return of the that country's Defence Attaché to Colombo.

Mark Field: Following my phone conversation with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 8 February, I met him again on 18 April in the margins of the Commonwealth Summit and raised the Defence Attaché incident. The former Defence Attaché's posting to London was formally ended by the Government of Sri Lanka on 15 April. No successor has yet been appointed.

Panchen Lama

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to seek to obtain date-verifiable material of Tibet's missing Panchen Lama from the Chinese authorities.

Mark Field: ​We raised the case of the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue which took place in Beijing on 27 June 2017. We called on the Chinese authorities to release evidence to reassure the international community of his current status and wellbeing.We urge China to ensure that the restrictions on the Panchen Lama's freedom of movement and communication are lifted, so that he may select the career, education or religious life of his choosing. We continue to support calls by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief for the Chinese authorities to facilitate a meeting between the Panchen Lama and independent international observers.

Northern Ireland Office

Customs Unions: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many meetings has she had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the customs union since that Department's establishment.

Karen Bradley: I have regular meetings with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

New IRA

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the content of the contribution made by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the threat posed by the IRA dissidents after the UK leaves the EU, broadcast on BBC Newsnight on 15 May 2018, what assessment her Department has made of the level and nature of the threat posed by those dissidents; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 22 May 2018



The Security Service assesses the level of threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism, and makes this assessment independently of Government and ministers. The threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Northern Ireland is currently assessed as SEVERE.

New IRA

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General of 16 May 2018, Official Report, column 390 for 16 May 2018, if she will place redacted copies of the security briefings on the threat posed by IRA dissidents as a result of the UK leaving the EU which were provided to Ministers by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (a) in the Library and (b) with the Committee on Exiting the European Union; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 22 May 2018



The PSNI are engaged in ongoing discussions with representatives from both the NIO and other Whitehall departments on a wide range of matters, including the security implications of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU. There are no security specific briefings to be placed in the Library or with the Committee on Exiting the European Union.

Northern Ireland Government

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent estimate she has made of the likely timescale for talks to begin between the main political parties on the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 22 May 2018



I met Northern Ireland’s five largest political parties recently to explore how we might achieve the restoration of devolved government while ensuring the good governance of Northern Ireland in the interim. I will continue to engage closely with them, and the Irish Government as appropriate, to encourage and support work towards an accomodation to restore the Executive. This remains a top priority for the Government.

Department of Health and Social Care

Hospitals: Cleaning Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, over what dates the most recent deep clean of each NHS hospital took place; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally.

Medical Equipment

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the uptake of new diagnostic devices of the lack of mandatory requirement for clinical commissioning groups to provide funding for such devices following approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no assessment. Diagnostics guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes evidence-based, authoritative recommendations for the National Health Service on the clinical and cost effective use of new diagnostic technologies. There is no statutory funding requirement for technologies recommended by NICE in its diagnostics guidance. However, NHS organisations are expected to take NICE’s guidance into account in making funding decisions for individual diagnostic technologies.

Ambulance Services

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients who were left waiting in ambulances for at least 30 minutes before being admitted to hospital in (a) Scunthorpe County Constituency, (b) North Lincolnshire and (c) England and Wales in each year from 2008 to 2017.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not available in the format requested. National figures for ambulance handover delays in England covering the winter of 2017/18 have been published by NHS England at the following website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/ Figures for individual service providers such as those based in Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire can also be found at that address, along with the available data covering previous winters. Healthcare in Wales is a devolved matter and accordingly does not fall within the remit of the Department.

Nutrition

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it mandatory for health professions to adhere to (a) NICE Clinical Guideline on nutritional support in adults, CG32 and (b) NICE Quality Standard QS24.

Steve Brine: The Government has no such plans. However, healthcare professionals are expected to fully take into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines and quality standards, alongside the individual patient needs, preferences and values when exercising their judgement about care and treatment. NICE clinical guidelines and quality standards, including ‘Nutrition support for adults: oral feeding, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition’ (NICE Clinical Guideline 32), describe best practice in the care and treatment of people with a particular condition or need, and people in particular circumstances or settings. They are based on the best available evidence and are developed through wide consultation.

NHS England: Finance

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether Government funding for NHS England is sufficient to enable it to meet the targets it has been set; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service and during the Autumn Budget in 2017 we backed the NHS in England further, so that by 2019/20 it will have received an additional £2.8 billion of revenue funding for frontline services than previously planned. The Government therefore expects the NHS to deliver the actions set out in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2018-19 – in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards. This means treating a quarter of a million more patients in accident and emergency, halving the number who have the longest waits for treatment and working towards reducing the number of patients waiting overall.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether private clinics will be used to carry out additional mammograms following the failure to invite women aged 68 to 71 to breast screening appointments; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: NHS England is taking major steps to put in place additional capacity of screening services to respond to the breast screening incident working with existing staff, including over evenings and weekends, and advise that they are also working closely with all local services and commissioners to ensure that they can co-ordinate any extra screening required across the programme. NHS England has advised that private capacity will only be used if necessary and where it meets national standards.

Brain: Tumours

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of new NHS consultant posts dedicated to neuro-oncology.

Stephen Barclay: The General Medical Council does not recognise neuro-oncology as a specialty or sub-specialty and we do not hold information centrally on any plans to increase the number of consultant posts dedicated to neuro-oncology.

World Health Assembly: Taiwan

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the World Health Organisation to facilitate Taiwan's attendance as an observer in the 2018 World Health Assembly.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom continues to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations where statehood is not a prerequisite and where Taiwan can make a valuable contribution. The UK believes the World Health Assembly (WHA) meets these criteria. The Department has supported the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We have worked with likeminded countries to lobby the World Health Organization at official level to issue an invitation to Taiwan to observe the WHA.

Orkambi

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made on the negotiations between NHS England and Vertex pharmaceuticals on making the drug Orkambi available on the NHS for people diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

Steve Brine: In March 2018, NHS England received an outline commercial approach from Vertex. NHS England has advised that discussions are now ongoing between the two organisations about the detail of this proposal. NHS England has been clear that it is willing to take a collaborative and flexible commercial approach with the company as long as they price their products responsibly. The Department supports these negotiations and encourages a fair deal that will provide the best value and outcomes for patients and the National Health Service. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord O’Shaughnessy) and I have written to Vertex, the manufacturer of Orkambi, to encourage expedition of the negotiations with NHS England and to set out the need to resolve this matter urgently. A copy of the letter is attached.



PQ144823 attached document
(PDF Document, 69.2 KB)

South Tyneside Hospital: Acute Beds

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for a decision to be made on the proposed changes to acute services at South Tyneside District Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: Following a referral to him made earlier this month by the South Tyneside and Sunderland Council Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, under S.23 of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny) Regulations 2013, of the proposed changes to services commissioned by the South Tyneside and Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Groups, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel seeking their expert, independent advice on the concerns raised. An announcement will be made in due course, on receipt of the Panel’s report.

Pharmacy Integration Fund

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what projects have been supported by the 2016-18 budget of the Pharmacy Integration Fund.

Steve Brine: The Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF) has been used to support the employment of pharmacists in integrated urgent care, general practice and care homes where their expert knowledge of medicines is helping to ensure the best care for patients. It has also been used to fund pilots of the supply of urgent medicines to patients without an appointment with a general practitioner (GP) and the referral to community pharmacy of patients calling NHS111, who present with minor illness. These programmes are aimed at utilising the skills of the community pharmacy teams to support the wider health service. The pilot urgent medicines supply service has alone in the first year saved 38,900 GP appointments. Underpinning these work streams the PhIF has, through Health Education England, funded the development of education and leadership programmes.

Continuing Care

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on health outcomes of a reduction in the NHS Continuing Healthcare budget.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England’s NHS Continuing Healthcare Strategic Improvement Programme was launched in April 2017, and aims to provide fair access to NHS Continuing Healthcare in a way which ensures better outcomes, better experience, and better use of resources. The programme does not aim to reduce spending on NHS Continuing Healthcare, but to reduce the rate of growth of expenditure. The projection is for spending on NHS Continuing Healthcare to increase by over 20% by 2020/21, or an average of approximately 3.9% per year. NHS England’s NHS Continuing Healthcare Strategic Improvement Programme will not change the threshold for eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is based on a multidisciplinary assessment of needs as set out in the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, together with secondary legislation to give statutory effect to the eligibility criteria and the decision-making processes.

Doctors: Convictions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doctors currently working in the NHS have been convicted of (a) manslaughter, (b) clinical medical negligence and (c) culpable homicide.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Malnutrition: Older People

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the contribution of undernutrition to the number of falls by elderly people.

Steve Brine: No central assessment has been made of the contribution of undernutrition to the number of falls by older people. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 cover the fundamental standards below which care must not drop, including meeting the nutritional and hydration needs of users. The regulations, which are considered during Care Quality Commission inspections, specify that people who use services must have their nutritional needs assessed and mean that the risk of malnutrition and dehydration while they receive care and treatment is reduced. To help tackle malnutrition in acute and community settings, NHS England published guidance on ‘Commissioning excellent nutrition and hydration’ in October 2015. The implementation of this guidance is a matter for the local National Health Service. The guidance is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/nut-hyd/

Endoscopy

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many clinical endoscopists have been recruited to date as part of Health Education England’s target to recruit and train an additional 400 clinical endoscopists; and what type of endoscopy procedures those recruited will be trained to carry out.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of how the additional 400 clinical endoscopists recruited as part of Health Education England’s targets will free up more consultant Gastroenterologist time for more complex cases.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Health Education England’s target to train 400 clinical endoscopists by 2021, whether his Department is making additional funding available to support hospitals with the backfill and supervision costs required to enable trainees to receive the release time required to participate in the training programme.

Stephen Barclay: The latest information from Health Education England (HEE) shows that, to date, 130 trainees have been recruited on to HEE’s national training programme to train as clinical endoscopists. Those recruited will be trained to undertake procedures in either upper gastrointestinal endoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy. It is for local trusts to determine, based on local service need and clinical case mix, how many procedures are undertaken by trained clinical endoscopists. Salary support is not offered as standard by HEE for the clinical endoscopist training programme.

Learning Disability: Nurses

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many learning disability nursing students there have been in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The number of learning disability nursing students training in each academic year is shown in the following table. Number of learning disability nursing students in trainingAcademic year2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Number of students1,8061,6791,712No data1,6381,6311,656 Source: Department of Health, Financial Information Management System system and Health Education England EDCOM (Education Commissioning) reports. Notes: - Data prior to 2013 came from the Department of Health Financial Management System. Data collected after 2013 comes from Health Education England EDCOM reports.- Data for the 2013/14 academic years are not available due to commissioning moving from the Department to Health Education England.- Student numbers are recorded as of March in each academic year.- Refers to students studying in England.- Data for 2017/18 are not yet available. On 9 May I announced £10 million funding for incentives for postgraduate students who go on to work in mental health and learning disability fields, as well as those postgraduates who go on to work in community nursing roles. I have asked officials to work closely with stakeholders on the roll out of the scheme.

Hospices

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received from the hospice movement on the impact proposed increases in NHS pay; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has received representations from the hospice movement on the effect of the proposed increases in NHS pay on that sector; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received 10 written representations from the hospice sector; raising concerns about the potential increase in their costs if they choose to increase pay in line with the proposed Agenda for Change pay rates.

Hospices

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the proposed NHS pay increases on sustainability of voluntary sector hospices.

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether voluntary hospices will be entitled to receive a proportion of the additional Government funding for the proposed NHS pay increases.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed NHS pay increase on voluntary sector hospices.

Stephen Barclay: The proposed Agenda for Change pay framework, which includes contract reform and pay awards over three years, is currently out to consultation with the National Health Service trades unions and the outcome will be known in June. The Chancellor was explicit that additional funding was tied to extensive reforms to the terms and conditions of staff employed on the Agenda for Change contract. We are considering the impact of the agreement on non-NHS organisations such as hospices that may be affected by the proposed deal however no decisions have been made. Staff in hospices do a fantastic job in delivering world-class care. The Department remains fully committed to improving palliative and end of life care.

Acupuncture

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of acupuncture on the NHS in each Clinical Commissioning Groups in England.

Steve Brine: No such assessment has been made. It is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups to make decisions on the commissioning and funding of any health care treatments for National Health Service patients, such as acupuncture, taking account of issues to do with safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness and the availability of suitably qualified or regulated practitioners.

Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the announcement of the treatments selected for the accelerated access pathway.

Steve Brine: The Accelerated Access Collaborative will meet shortly to launch the Accelerated Access Pathway, and will consider the first group of products as part of their discussions.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase investment in research into trigeminal neuralgia.

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on commissioning research into trigeminal neuralgia.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The usual practice of the NIHR and other research funders is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on trigeminal neuralgia. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The amount of NIHR funding in a disease area therefore depends on the quality and volume of scientific activity. The NIHR Clinical Research Network is available to support the set-up and timely delivery of commercial and non-commercial studies and trials in England which would include studies on trigeminal neuralgia. The NIHR has previously funded research projects on chronic facial pain as part of the range of NIHR training schemes that support future research leaders and would welcome further applications for training awards based on research on trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness among (a) clinicians and (b) the public of trigeminal neuralgia.

Steve Brine: General practice is where most patients with trigeminal neuralgia are likely to be first seen and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners (GP) Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams. The AKT content guide can be found at the following link: www.rcgp.org.uk/training-exams/mrcgp-exams-overview/mrcgp-applied-knowledge-test-akt.aspx The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced an online Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on the diagnosis and treatment of trigeminal neuralgia to support clinicians in the management of the condition. In 2013, NICE also published the clinical guideline ‘Neuropathic pain in adults: pharmacological management in non- specialist settings’ which provides advice to clinicians on the management of conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia. Both the CKS and the guideline, which is also available in a format suitable for patients, can be found at the following links: cks.nice.org.uk/trigeminal-neuralgia www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg173 NHS England has also published a commissioning policy for the use of stereotactic radiosurgery in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. This may be appropriate for some patients where pharmaceutical management does not work or is not tolerated. The commissioning policy can be found at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/d05-p-b.pdf   Finally, NHS Choices provides information for patients and the public on a wide range of conditions, including trigeminal neuralgia. This covers causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The NHS Choices page can be found at the following link: www.nhs.uk/conditions/trigeminal-neuralgia/

Genetics: Screening

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the viability of extending BRCA testing to all women over 30 on request.

Steve Brine: NHS England currently commissions Medical Genetics Services to provide BRCA testing in accordance with a published clinical commissioning policy which is in line with current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines. The test is available to women aged 30 and over. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/10/e01pb-brca-ovarian-cancer-oct15.pdf

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2018 to Question 141873, what progress has been made on evaluating the potential impact to the sector of sleep-in back-pay liabilities; and which care sector representatives have been consulted with respect to that evaluation.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government commissioned market analysis in order to understand the scale of the national minimum wage back-pay liabilities across the social care sector, which was open to all providers across the social care sector. This work is currently subject to further analysis and refinement. Due to the sensitive nature of this work, no data that could be used to identify providers or local authorities has been shared with any Government department. Officials meet regularly with various sector representatives including members of Learning Disability Voices, Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, Care England, the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, and others – to better understand the impact this issue is having on the sector.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2018 to Question 133443, on Social Services: Minimum Wage, what timescale he has for discussions with the European Commission.

Caroline Dinenage: Officials opened discussions with representatives from the European Commission on 6 December 2017. These discussions are ongoing. The Government will continue to engage with the European Commission to determine how any support that may be offered would comply with State aid rules.

Disability

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people there are with registered disabilities in each clinical commissioning group area in Kent.

Caroline Dinenage: Information on the number of people with registered disabilities in each clinical commissioning group area in Kent is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what activities he has taken part in to highlight Mental Health Awareness Week.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Mental health is a key priority of the Government. This Mental Health Awareness Week, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State attended the launch of the Alliance of Champions for Mental Health and Wellbeing, of which the United Kingdom is a founding member, along with Canada and Australia. At the event, the Secretary of State announced the first ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, which will take place in London this October. I co-chaired the penultimate meeting of the Women’s Mental Health Taskforce. In addition, NHS England announced a package of £25 million funding to support local suicide prevention plans.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are plans to allow males to be offered the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine.

Steve Brine: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is currently considering whether the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls should be extended to include adolescent boys. The Department will consider its final advice once it has been received. This advice is expected in 2018. The JCVI have also considered HPV vaccination for men who have sex with men (MSM), and advised that a targeted HPV vaccination programme should be introduced for MSM aged up to 45 years who attend Genitourinary Medicine and HIV clinics. Following a successful Public Health England led pilot in 42 of such clinics, the Department announced in February 2018 that this programme would roll out across the country from April 2018.

Hospitals: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which private hospitals (a) Ministers, (b) Special Advisers and (c) senior officials of his Department have visited in each of the last 18 months; and what the subject of those visits was.

Stephen Barclay: Ministers and Special Advisers visit a range of hospitals, which may include private hospitals and these cover aspects of their role in their capacity as Ministers and Special Advisers. Information of senior officials visiting private hospitals over the past 18 months is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Health Services: Private Sector

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) senior officials of his Department have had with representatives of private health companies in each of the last 18 months; and what the subject of those meetings was.

Stephen Barclay: Details of all Ministerial and Special Adviser meetings with representatives of private health companies in each of the last 18 months, together with the purpose of each meeting are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website. Information for 2016 is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2016 The latest publications up to December 2017 are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2017 Information of senior officials meetings with representatives of private health companies over the past 18 months is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Cancer

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the effectiveness of the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey of moving data from NHS trusts to (a) a central point of collection within the NHS and (b) an external survey provider.

Steve Brine: Since its inception, the Cancer Patient Experience Survey has followed the same model – whereby trusts provide contact information for those patients eligible to receive the survey. This information is passed to a centrally procured external survey supplier who then runs the survey, receives survey responses from patients and produces the national set of results (with support from central analytical colleagues, particularly in terms of quality assurance of the output). There are no current plans to change the model.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent changes his Department and Public Health England have made to the system by which women are invited to breast screening; and whether his Department is planning further changes to that system.

Steve Brine: Public Health England has put in place remedial measures including information technology changes and manual safety checks to ensure that the error is not affecting any further women going forward. Any additional changes will be considered in light of the findings of the independent review that the Secretary of State commissioned.

Doctors: Greater London

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of delays to the recruitment of overseas doctors for reasons of visa restrictions in (a) Ealing hospital and (b) the North West London Trust area in each of the last three years.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of delays to the recruitment of overseas doctors as a result of visa restrictions. The Government recognises fully the contribution that international doctors working in the National Health Service make towards delivering the high quality compassionate care we all expect. But it is important that our immigration system works in the national interest, ensuring that employers look first to the United Kingdom resident labour market before recruiting from overseas. The Department and the Home Office are monitoring the operation of the cap on the number of Certificates of Sponsorship for Tier 2 (General) visas closely to ensure it continues to strike the right balance. The health sector continues to occupy the largest cohort of applications within the Tier 2 (General) limit, taking 39% of available Certificates within the cap in 2017/18.

Health Professions: Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Health of 9 May 2018, Official Report, column 844, whether the £9.1 million in golden hellos to postgraduate students in specific hard-to-recruit disciplines such mental health, learning and disability, and district nursing will be made available to applicants for the 2018-19 academic year.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Health of 9 May 2018, Official Report, column 844, how the £9.1 million in golden hellos will be divided between applicants for (a) mental health nursing, (b) learning and disability nursing and (c) district nursing.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Health of 9 May 2018, Official Report, column 844, what estimate his Department has made of the number of students who will study nursing as a result of the offer of golden hellos for certain disciplines.

Stephen Barclay: Further to the announcement of 9 May, the Government is considering the most effective way to implement the ‘golden hello’ incentive scheme for postgraduate nursing students. These payment incentives offer £10,000 to future postgraduates who completed courses funded by loans in the 2018/19 academic year. The golden hello payments are anticipated to be contingent on these graduates working in specific fields of the health and care sector including mental health, learning disability and community, including district, nursing. The detail of the scheme is being developed by the Department. Officials will engage with stakeholders as part of finalising proposals; including determining whether it is in the best interests of the National Health Service to split out the numbers eligible for a payment determined by branch of nursing. The conclusions of this will inform assessments of the potential impact of such incentives. Our cost projections were based on current numbers, and if the number of students increases we will consider how best to implement the incentives to continue meeting objectives to fill hard-to-recruit places.

Members: Correspondence

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow North West dated 27 April 2018 on Serco Group PLC’s contract with Public Health England.

Steve Brine: I have responded to the hon. Member’s letter today.

5-AminoLevulinic Acid

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release of 14 May 2018 entitled Government announces £40 million for brain cancer research in honour of Tessa Jowell, what the planned timetable is for the roll-out of 5-AminoLevulinic Acid to all brain cancer centres in England.

Steve Brine: The fluorescent dye 5-AminoLevulinic Acid (5-ALA) is already in use in some brain cancer centres. NHS England has communicated its commitment to implementation in all relevant National Health Service trusts and is currently working with neurosurgical centres to ensure that 5-ALA is available for use in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines from July 2018.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate at any regional level of the total sleep-in back pay liability for providers.

Caroline Dinenage: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on 26 February 2018 to Question 128962.

General Practitioners: Fees and Charges

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to prevent GPs from charging for signing a patient’s letter.

Steve Brine: Under the terms of their contract with NHS England, general practitioners (GPs) are required to provide certain medical reports or complete certain forms for which a medical report is required by other legislation, for example, the Social Security Administration Act, free of charge to their registered patients. There are no plans currently to prevent GPs from charging for signing a patient’s letter, other than those which they are required to provide free of charge.

Psoriasis: Children

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were being treated for psoriasis as of 1 May 2018.

Steve Brine: This information is not available.

Muscular Dystrophy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he last met charities representing the interests of people living with duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Steve Brine: The last meeting between a Minister of the Department and a charity representing the interests of people living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy took place in October 2017, when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy), met a number of charities representing people with neurological disorders, including the Neurological Alliance. The Alliance provides a collective voice for over 80 neurological condition charities, including Action Duchenne.

Nutrition: Health Education

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received on dietary advice on the recommended level of fat in diet.

Steve Brine: The Government’s advice on saturated fats consumption remains unchanged for now. Following receipt of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s final advice on saturated fat, Public Health England and other Government bodies will consider whether Government advice on saturated fats requires updating. A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified no items of correspondence received since December 2017 about dietary advice on the recommended level of fat in diet. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which clinical commissioning groups fund endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy operations.

Steve Brine: Information on which clinical commissioning groups fund endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy operations is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of each clinical commissioning group to decide which treatments they fund. Each decision must be based on clinical evidence, and clinical commissioning groups must ensure they meet their statutory duties when taking this decision.

Sugar: Consumption

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the average amount of sugar consumed by a person in the UK (a) in one week, (b) in one year and (c) over the course of their life.

Steve Brine: The latest data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that the average daily intake of free sugars for men and women aged 19-64 years in the United Kingdom was 64.3g and 50.0g per day respectively in 2014/15-2015/16. Data on how much sugar is consumed by a person in the UK per week and per year are not available in the format requested. Further information is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/699241/NDNS_results_years_7_and_8.pdf

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Kosovo

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff from her Department have been assigned to roles in the (a) British Embassy, Pristina, (b) United Nations Mission in Kosovo, (c) NATO Kosovo Force, (d) European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and (e) other international organisations' missions in Kosovo in each year since 2008.

Harriett Baldwin: No DFID staff have been assigned to the British Embassy, United Nations Mission, NATO Kosovo Force, European Union Rule of Law Mission or any other international organisations since 2010. DFID does not hold such records prior to 2010.

Montserrat: Health Services

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help improve healthcare facilities in Montserrat.

Penny Mordaunt: DFID has recently financed a comprehensive study of the health sector on Montserrat, assessing need and identifying areas for improvement. The study has proposed a number of reforms to the health sector as well as options for a new hospital facility. In addition, DFID’s annual contribution to the budget of the Government of Montserrat through its financial aid programme, provides funding for a number of health specialists to be recruited internationally. Under this programme the Government of Montserrat has recently engaged the services of a Healthcare Development Manager. This post holder will play a critical role in coordinating the implementation of recommendations from the health sector study. This will include the drafting and the implementation of a new health strategy as well as corresponding action plans for implementation.

Overseas Aid

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid her Department is planning to allocate to (a) Commonwealth and (b) non-Commonwealth countries in each of the next five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The indicative budgets by DFID country office for 2018/19 and 2019/20 will be available in the Annual Report and Accounts for 2017/18 which is due to be published later this year. Departmental budgets for 2020/21 and beyond have yet to be agreed, and will be set during the upcoming Spending Review. Over the next five years Commonwealth countries will continue to be important development partners as the UK delivers on its commitments to reduce global poverty. Our aid spending will continue to be focused on supporting countries to grow their economies, trade and invest their way out of poverty and ensuring that no one is left behind.

Commonwealth: Overseas Aid

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding that is currently allocated to the EU's development assistance budget her Department plans to re-allocate to Commonwealth countries after the UK leaves the EU.

Harriett Baldwin: There will be no decisions on the future distribution of UK aid until the Government’s negotiations on exiting the EU have concluded. However, leaving the EU means that in future we will take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. While the UK remains a member of the EU, we will honour commitments made to the EU budget during the period of our membership. We will pay our full share of all EU development programmes approved by December 2020, and contribute to the 11th European Development Fund until its closure.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

David Linden: What recent support her Department has provided to strengthen democratic processes and governance in developing countries.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID provides extensive support to promote more inclusive, open and accountable governance. Last year DFID supported elections in Sierra Leone, Somalia and Kenya. DFID also works with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in over 30 countries to build trust and participation in democratic institutions, including among minorities and vulnerable groups.

Overseas Aid: Cost Effectiveness

Gordon Henderson: What steps she is taking to promote value for money in aid spending.

Penny Mordaunt: It is vital that aid spending delivers value for money. I have set a challenge that we ensure aid money is not just spent well, but cannot be spent better.

East Africa: Food Supply

Mr Laurence Robertson: What recent assessment she has made of the level of food security in east Africa.

Harriett Baldwin: More than 20 million people are experiencing acute food shortages in East Africa. The situation is most severe in Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan, with a risk of famine in South Sudan. The UK has recently provided assistance to over 13.6 million people and has allocated £279 million for humanitarian aid to these countries this year.

EU Aid

Kate Green: What plans her Department has to contribute to EU development and humanitarian funds after the UK leaves the EU.

Penny Mordaunt: Negotiations are still ongoing about the UK’s position following the implementation period. If a UK contribution to EU development funds can best deliver our mutual interests, we should both be open to that. This will be decided on a case by case basis where it represents value for taxpayers’ money.

Department for Education

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total value was of related party transactions made by academies and academy trusts in (a) the year ending 31 August 2016 and (b)  each of the previous five years.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 15 May 2018



Related party transactions involving academy trusts encompass both receipts by and payments by trusts and so there are separate totals for each. The information requested, including both payments made by and receipts received by academy trusts, was included for the first time in the Academies Sector Annual Report and Accounts for the academic year 2015 to 2016.Payments made by academy trusts to related parties: Number of Related Party Transactions2015/16 payments to related parties (£000)£1 to £50,0002,63624,627£50,001 to £100,00018312,585£100,001 to £200,00011916,006£200,001 to £250,000255,662£250,001+7061,922TOTAL3,033120,802 Income received by academy trusts from related parties: Number of Related Party Transactions2015/16 receipts from related parties (£000)£1 to £50,0008579,574£50,001 to £100,0001359,541£100,001 to £200,0008811,471£200,001 to £250,000163,565£250,001+5939,066TOTAL1,15573,217 As the tables above show, £120,802,000 (62%) of the total value of all related party transactions is accounted for by academy trusts making payments to related parties, whilst £73,217,000 (38%) represents income received by academy trusts from related parties. Income received from related parties includes: transactions with subsidiary companies or shared services, diocesan education authorities, related charities as well as donations or services provided by trustees, or trustees’ family members. This information was not previously collected in this format and we do not have comparable analysis for previous years. Academy trusts are required to disclose all related party transactions in their audited annual accounts, which are publicly available for all years the academy trust has been in operation.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to Local Authorities on the procurement of IT systems to deliver 30 free hours of childcare.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 17 May 2018



The arrangements between software suppliers and individual local authorities are often unique and systems, to support the delivery of 30 hours free childcare, are procured through an open market. Due to the commercial implications, the department remains unbiased and does not provide procurement advice. The department has provided, through the Digital Accelerate Fund and the Delivery Support Fund, an additional £3.5 million to help local authorities improve localised IT systems for 30 hours. Local authorities were responsible for procuring any additional system functionality they required.

University of Chester Academies Trust

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were applied when deciding which schools within the University of Chester Academies Trust should be rebrokered.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department is working closely with University of Chester Academy Trust to re-broker four of its seven academies. They are University Primary Academy Weaverham, University Primary Academy Kidsgrove, University Academy Kidsgrove and University of Chester Academy Northwich. These academies were identified after carefully considering the following:Support already in place – these academies, were already receiving support and had the capacity to respond to additional support, with the potential to improve more quickly than the others following a re-brokerage.Geography - the four academies identified for re-brokerage are located furthest away from University of Chester Academy Trust Head office and the University of Chester.Financial position – the trust’s financial position was scrutinised as a whole, alongside that of each academy within the trust.Impact on the wider trust - the department considered whether University of Chester Academy Trust would be able to continue operating as a three-school trust and how it could service its debts.Whilst the decision has been made to re-broker the above four academies, the department has made it clear to the trust that the academic and financial health of each academy remains its responsibility until the re-brokerage takes place.

Social Services: Children

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations made in the report Crumbling Futures, published by Children’s Society in March 2018.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) educational and (b) career outcomes for children in need.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) educational and (b) career outcomes for children in need.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support provided to children in need in the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing transitional support for children in need as they reach adulthood.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are interested in the recommendations of the Children’s Society Crumbling Futures report and welcome the focus on this area. The government is committed to preparing vulnerable children for adult life and we recognise the importance of the transition into adulthood. We are pleased that the report welcomes the recent publications under the government’s Children in Need Review. The review is a priority for the government and a significant opportunity to review the support we offer vulnerable children to help them reach their potential. As part of the review we have published new data on the educational and Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) outcomes for children in need. Alongside the new data we have launched a call for evidence to look at the support offered to children in need and asked the Education Endowment Fund and the Early Intervention Foundation to look at the evidence for what works to support these children and improve their outcomes. This will help us assess the adequacy of the support children in need are given and to decide what steps should be taken to improve that support. We will consider any evidence we receive about transition support as part of the review. It is important that children in need receive the right support throughout childhood to ensure they are ready for adult life. Therefore, we are continuing to implement our reform programme as set out in ‘Putting Children First’ with the aim that all children, no matter where they live, should have access to the same high quality care and support to meet their needs. This includes stronger initial training and clarity about the knowledge and skills social workers need in their jobs and creating an environment where innovation can flourish and frontline practice is driven by evidence. We are also taking decisive action to improve services in inadequate local authorities through our interventions programme and by implementing a new improvement strategy for local authorities at risk of delivering inadequate children’s social care services.

Schools: Transport

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government provides to help children with disabilities get to and from school.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty under section 508B of the Education Act 1996 to make travel arrangements to enable all eligible children of compulsory school age to attend their nearest suitable school. This includes provision for those whose special educational needs, disabilities (SEND) or mobility problem mean they could not reasonably be expected to walk to the school. LAs spend around £600 million every year on transport for pupils with SEND. The Department is currently reviewing home to school transport guidance to ensure it sets out LAs’ duties, particularly those relating to disabled pupils, as clearly as possible. The Department is also providing councils with an additional £215 million over the next three years to invest in new places, and improve facilities for pupils with SEND.

Teachers: Termination of Employment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,  how many (a) modern languages and (b) art teachers have left the teaching profession (i) through retirement and (ii) for other reasons in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: Information regarding the number of teachers leaving the teaching profession broken down by subject is not held centrally. Information is available showing the percentage of teachers leaving service by subject from state funded secondary education in England for 2011 to 2015. This information is contained the ‘Teachers Analysis Compendium 2017’, an analysis of trends in teacher supply, retention and mobility in England between 2010 and 2015. The specific data is available in Table 2.1 of statistical release at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/teachers-analysis-compendium-2017. Given these percentages are estimates derived from a sample of data, it would not be appropriate to provide numbers. No date has been set for an update to this publication.

Education: Refugees

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what policies her Department has in place to ensure that refugees do not face (a) language and (b) other barriers to entering the education system.

Nadhim Zahawi: Schools take responsibility for ensuring that all of their pupils, regardless of their background, are engaged, challenged and attain to the best of their ability. School funding arrangements give head teachers flexibility over how they use their funding to support their pupils, as they are best placed to decide how to deploy the school’s resources effectively in order to address the specific needs of their pupils.The national funding formula for schools, which replaced local funding formulae in April 2018, directs funding to schools with pupils on roll who have English as an additional language and have been in the English school system for a maximum of three years. This equates to an additional £515 per primary school pupil and an additional £1,385 per secondary school pupil. In addition, the mobility factor in the national funding formula allocates funding to schools that have a high proportion of pupils joining the school mid-way through the academic year; this totals around £22 million in 2018-19. Where appropriate, schools can also draw on the funding they are allocated to improve the progress and attainment of pupils from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.Refugee students in 16-19 education settings are considered eligible for funding by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. The inclusion of disadvantage funding as an element of the 16-19 funding formula for school and college places may also benefit refugee students. This funding is allocated to education providers for students with low prior attainment or who live in the most disadvantaged areas, in order to help attract, retain and support disadvantaged young people (and those with lower-level special educational needs and disabilities). Possible uses of this funding include the provision of additional support in English and mathematics; outreach services to attract students; and further learning or pastoral support.Looking beyond education, the government has set out its vision in the Integrated Communities Strategy green paper to work with civil society to find ways to support the integration of all refugees in the UK, including those granted refugee status after claiming asylum. We will continue to work with civil society to develop solutions and good practice in this area.

University of Chester Academies Trust

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to ensure that University Academy Warrington is effectively managed as a result of reports of its financial problems from the University of Chester Academies Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The finances of any academy, its governance and academic performance are managed and overseen at trust level. University of Chester Academies Trust (UCAT) is accountable for the effective management of University Academy Warrington. The Financial Notice to Improve (FNtI) issued on 4 May 2018 to the trust enables the Education and Skills Funding Agency to hold the trust to account and sets conditions that the trust must meet. The West Midlands Regional Schools Commissioner continues to work with the trust to strengthen both governance and educational standards. We are holding the UCAT board to account on a regular basis to assess the support and recovery plans they are putting in place for all their academies. Together with the FNtI, that has been issued, the continued scrutiny and challenge, there is a determined commitment to resolving this situation and improving the outcomes for all pupils.

Children: Day Care

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for 30 hours of free childcare have been processed in Barnsley in each of the last 12 months for which information is available.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of eligibility codes for 30 hours free childcare that have generated and validated in Barnsley, as of data published on 10 May 2018, is shown below: Eligibility codes issued – 1,572Eligibility codes validated – 1,423 Please note, ‘codes issued’ relates to the local authority where the parent is resident. ‘Codes validated’ relates to the local authority where the code was checked. These are not always the same, as some parents may use their code in a bordering local authority. Monthly Management Information is published at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated. We will continue to publish regular management information on the rollout of 30 hours free childcare at a national and local level.

GCE A-level

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the most recent average point score per entry was for students of (a) A-levels and (b) equivalent qualifications in (i) Barnsley East constituency, (ii) Barnsley and (iii) England who were (A) eligible and (B) not eligible for free school meals when they were 15 years of age.

Nick Gibb: The revised 16-18 schools and colleges performance measures in 2016/17, for England, split by eligibility for free school meals (FSM) at the end of Key Stage 4,[1] were published in the Department’s statistical first release on 15 March 2018.[2] Constituency level information is not published for 16-18 performance measures.The average point score (APS) per entry for A level students in (a) Barnsley and (b) England who were (i) eligible and (ii) not eligible for FSM at the end of Key Stage 4 for 2016/17 is available in the attached table. [1] Student characteristics, such as ethnicity and FSM eligibility are not routinely or consistently collected at 16-18. Characteristics information as recorded for students at the end of Key Stage 4 are used in this analysis.[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised. 



Average_Point_Score_In_Barnsley_And_England
(PDF Document, 22.28 KB)

Children: Social Services

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Lancashire Director of Children's Services on early intervention, resourcing and identified or non-funding pressures.

Nadhim Zahawi: Following the meeting I had with my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale and his constituents about early intervention and resourcing, my officials subsequently spoke to Lancashire County Council’s Director of Children’s Services to relay the matters discussed. I understand the Director of Children’s Services has followed up with my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale’s constituent. Funding for children’s services is an un-ring-fenced part of the wider local government finance settlement, to give local authorities the flexibility to focus on locally determined priorities and, of course, their statutory responsibilities, including children’s social care. Over the five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20 councils will have access to more than £200 billion to deliver the local services their communities want to see, including children’s services. In February, Parliament confirmed the 2018-19 settlement for local government, providing a real terms increase in resources available to local government - £44.3 billion in 2017-18 to £45.1 billion in 2018-19.

Children: Protection

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reports of concern have been submitted to the Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Board on (a) Morecambe Bay Primary School and (b) West End Primary School in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally. Safeguarding concerns are a matter for local determination and would not be routinely reported to government.

Department for Education: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Anne Milton: Following the introduction of the Shared Parental Leave regulations, 16 male staff in the department have taken a period of shared parental leave, averaging 3.3 months leave each.

Sixth Form Colleges: Vocational Guidance

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for sixth-form colleges to provide careers advice.

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for sixth-form colleges to provide mental health support.

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for sixth-form colleges to provide extra-curricular activities to develop employability skills.

Anne Milton: Colleges use their funding to provide study programmes that are tailored to students’ needs and include employability, enrichment and pastoral (EEP) activities as well as teaching time for qualifications. EEP hours can include activities such as development of employability skills, careers advice and guidance, and pastoral support such as mental health support. Colleges have a requirement in their funding agreements to secure access to independent careers guidance for 16 to 19-year olds. The government’s careers strategy expects colleges to use the benchmarks published by the Gatsby Foundation to develop and improve their careers provision. We have published guidance to set out in detail what colleges are expected to do. The department is not prescribing how each college fulfils the requirement. There is a wide range of support available, and drawing on connections with a network of employers should be a central aspect of the college’s overall careers strategy. We have recently allocated additional funding to support institutions to develop their capacity to establish work placements, as part of the preparation to deliver T levels. This will have a direct impact on employability. A number of sixth form colleges will receive this funding. We recognise that colleges cannot act alone to support the mental health of their students and the proposals in our green paper, ‘Transforming Mental Health Provision for Children and Young People’ to provide additional support to schools and colleges will be supported by over £300 million in additional funding. In addition the department is actively considering the efficiency and resilience of the further education sector, and how far existing and forecast funding and regulatory structures meet the costs of delivering world-class provision.

Pupils: Cancer

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a diagnosis of cancer automatically requiring an education, health and care plan.

Nadhim Zahawi: No such assessment has been made as we think the current set up is flexible enough to respond to situations like this. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years is clear that the decision to carry out a needs assessment for an Education, Health and Care plan must be based on the individual needs of the child and whether it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for them. The Code of Practice states that local authorities must not apply a ‘blanket’ policy to particular groups of children or certain types of need, as this would prevent the consideration of a child’s or young person’s needs individually and on their merits.

Children's Centres: Staffordshire

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, further to the oral evidence of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education on Evidence-based early-years intervention inquiry on 1 May 2018, Q 384 and Q 457, HC 506, which outcome measures have been identified as improving in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Newcastle since children’s centre provision was reorganised.

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the Science and Technology Select Committee on 1 May 2018, 384, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the number of children’s centres that are open in the most disadvantaged areas has stayed constant.

Nadhim Zahawi: The percentage of children achieving a good level of development at age five and the gap between children eligible for free school meals and their peers at age five have been identified as improving in Staffordshire and Newcastle since children’s centre provision in those areas was reorganised in 2015-16. Further details are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2016-to-2017. The Sutton Trust report ‘Stop Start’ found that the proportion of children’s centres in disadvantaged areas has remained constant. We will be writing to the Science & Technology select committee to clarify this point.

Schools: Pay

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the public sector pay cap on the recruitment and retention of staff in schools.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member for Coventry South to the answer I gave on 14 May 2018 to question 143116: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-05-11/143116/.

Pupils: Hyperactivity

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2018 to Question 143877, when last his Department reviewed the adequacy of the current approach to pupils with hyperactivity.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has not undertaken a review of the current approach to pupils with hyperactivity. The 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice provides statutory guidance and is applicable across the range of SEND. Where pupils with hyperactivity experience learning difficulties that call for additional or different educational provision to that required by other children, the Code of Practice will apply. Schools are required to identify and address the SEND of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEND gets the support they need. In inspecting a school, Ofsted must consider how well the school meets the needs of the range of pupils at the school, including specifically those with SEND.

Academies

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many directive academy orders have been issued to maintained schools that Ofsted has rated as inadequate pursuant to s4(A1) of the Academies Act 2010; and how many of those schools have subsequently opened as sponsored academies.

Nadhim Zahawi: The 2016 Education and Adoption Act[1] placed a duty on the Secretary of State to make an academy order in respect of any maintained school that has been judged inadequate by Ofsted, to enable it to become an academy and receive additional support from a sponsor. Between 18 April 2016, when this power came into force, and 1 May 2018, the department has issued 426 academy orders to inadequate local authority maintained schools. Of these, 218 have since opened as sponsored academies. In all cases, we will ensure that there is appropriate support in place to secure improvement until the school converts. This can be from the preferred sponsor or through another multi-academy trust or teaching school alliance, or direct from the local authority. Some schools do not proceed to conversion, either because they close or merge or because they improve sufficiently and are removed from special measures. 21 have had their academy orders revoked, either due to subsequent Ofsted inspections, or closure or merger.  [1] Section 4(A1) of the Academies Act 2010, as inserted by the Education and Adoption Act 2016.

Sex and Relationship Education

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on introducing compulsory Relationships and Sex Education in schools by September 2019.

Nick Gibb: The Department is currently assessing the evidence gathered during an engagement process, including a call for evidence, to support decisions on the content of Relationships Education for primary schools and Relationships and Sex Education for secondary schools, and on the status of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. The Department plans to publish the results of the call for evidence shortly alongside a consultation on draft regulations and accompanying statutory guidance, before laying the regulations in the House for debate. The Department is working towards schools being able to teach the new subjects from September 2019.

Ministry of Justice

Courts: Closures

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts have been closed and replaced with remote video technology since 2015.

Lucy Frazer: No courts have been closed and replaced with remote video technology since 2015. To enhance access to justice, remote video links have been established as part of six court closures since 2015, with a further two video links to be in place by the end of the year. Remote video technology provides additional support to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including defence witnesses who may give evidence via a live video link from a location away from a court environment.

Young Offender Institutions

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 141024, on Young Offender Institutions, if he will publish that same information (a) per young person and (b) by age.

Dr Phillip Lee: The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is one of our highest priorities and is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system. We are committed to reforming youth custody so that it is safer for both young people and staff, as well as being better equipped to help young people turn their lives around. However, as was stated in the answer to the original PQ, we do not centrally hold this data broken down per young person. We also do not centrally hold this data broken down by age. These figures could only be provided at disproportionate cost by collating the information from individual records held locally at each establishment. The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is currently in the process of moving all custodial data and information from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) following the creation of the YCS in September 2017. The second phase of this project will be to review datasets and improve the quality of information available. Separation data will be included in this review.

Prisons: Computers and Telephones

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2018 to Question 133149, how much funding his Department allocated on the preparation for piloting digital capabilities in each of the other sites listed in that question.

Rory Stewart: We are piloting in-cell telephony and basic computers in two prisons – HMP Wayland and HMP Berwyn. No funding has been allocated on the preparation for piloting in-cell digital capabilities in each of the other sites listed in the answer to question 133149. To deliver the enhanced technical capabilities including in-cell telephony and wing-based computers that allow prisoners to manage their own day to day tasks, the funding allocated is as follows: For sites with in-cell telephony and wing-based computers: HMP Durham, HMP Wandsworth, HMP Holme House, HMP High Down, HMP Kirklevington Grange and YOI Cookham Wood: In-cell telephony £10.5mWing based computers (kiosks) £0.9m For sites with in-cell telephony only: HMP Nottingham, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Moorland, HMP Chelmsford, HMP Liverpool, HMP Guys Marsh and HMP Exeter. In-cell telephony £6.0m The following additional sites will receive in-cell telephony only, once cabling is completed – HMP Leeds, HMP Bristol, HMP Swaleside, HMP Aylesbury and HMP Manchester. In-cell telephony £3.2m

Independent Monitoring Boards

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Independent Monitoring Board (a) members and (b) vacancies there have been in each year since 2010.

Rory Stewart: The number of Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) members is only recorded from April 2013 onwards and is set out as follows: April 2013 – 1678April 2014 – 1504April 2015 – 1385April 2016 – 1459April 2017 – 1471April 2018 – 1394 Historical data on IMB vacancies is not recorded, only the current number of vacancies. The number of IMB vacancies as of 17 May 2018 is 691.

Prisoners on Remand: Bail Information Schemes

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of remanded prisoners who receive support from bail information services.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what monitoring his Department carries out on the extent and quality of bail information services in prison.

Rory Stewart: The Department’s focus is on ensuring access to information relevant to applications for bail at the court stage of the process in order to divert defendants from prison. There is no national performance management reporting of the bail process in prisons. In line with all service provision bail support provision is subject to local performance management and inspection arrangements.

Courts: ICT

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the business case for the planned digital courts reform programme redacted as necessary.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is committed to maintaining a world-leading legal system and is investing over £1bn to transform our courts and tribunals to create a better, more straightforward, accessible and efficient justice system for all who use and need it.There are no plans to publish the business case for the court reform programme. Business cases are used for internal governance purposes within HMCTS and the wider Ministry and are shared with the HM Treasury to assist with funding discussions.

Ministry of Justice: Written Questions

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2018 to Question 139567, on prison officers redundancy pay, what estimate his Department made of the cost to the public purse of answering that question.

Rory Stewart: The estimate to the public purse given as disproportionate costs in reply to PQ 139567 (To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value was of severance packages for prison officers that took voluntary early departure and were subsequently re-recruited since after 2010) was based on the fact that the Ministry of Justice does not hold the information centrally, and would need to commission two independent contracted bodies to look through their records to identify operational staff in Bands 3 to 5 (and the closed world prison officer grades) who have left the service since 2010, to investigate whether a severance package under VEDS was paid and whether they have subsequently returned to service. Through a combination of our contracted shared service provider and the pension scheme administrator we would need to commission work and information that would then need to be cross checked on an individual basis against various criteria. The cost and time to undertake this work given the MoJ does not hold the information exceeds the Department’s cost limit of £850 for answering parliamentary questions and is therefore disproportionate to the public purse.

Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost was to the public purse of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2012 and were subsequently re-recruited.

Rory Stewart: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost

Employment and Support Allowance: Barnsley

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the success rate for appeals against decisions on employment and support allowance entitlement has been in Barnsley in the most recent 12-month period for which data is available.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the success rate for appeals against decisions on personal independence payment entitlement has been in Barnsley in the most recent 12-month period for which data is available.

Lucy Frazer: The table below contains the requested information.Clearances in Social Security and Child Support in Barnsley1 for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)2 and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) 3  Percentage found in favour of appellant (at hearing)4January - December 20175ESA65%PIP63% 1 Social Security and Child Support data are attributed to hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address.2 Includes Employment and Support Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Reassessments).3 Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) replaced Disability Living Allowance on 8 April 2013, and also includes Personal Independence Payment Clams (Reassessments).4 Percentage found in favour of appellant, this is based on the number found in favour as a percentage of the appeals cleared at hearing, in line with the published statistics.5 Data April 2017 to December 2017 are provisional data and subject to change.Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data available.The data are a subset of official statistics extracted from the case management system on a different date.A combination of reasons can lead to a decision being overturned on appeal. For example, a hearing may generate additional evidence, in particular oral evidence, provided by the appellant at the hearing. Latest figures indicate that PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these under 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned. For ESA thee figure is only 8% of decisions made were appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time for an employment support allowance appeal hearing was in (a) Barnsley and (b) nationally in (i) each of the last 12 months and (ii) the last 12 months overall in the most recent period for which data is available.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time for personal independence payment appeal hearing was in (a) Barnsley and (b) nationally in (a) Barnsley and (b) nationally in (i) each of the last 12 months and (ii) the last 12 months overall in the most recent period for which data is available.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is set out in the table below: Barnsley1United KingdomAverage Clearance Time in weeks2PeriodESA3PIP4ESA3PIP4January 201714161616February 201717131617March 201715131617April 2017 518201818May 2017 517211719June 2017 521231820July 2017 517191821August 2017 522221922September 2017 519202022October 2017 520212124November 2017 520202225December 2017 515182224Jan-Dec 2017 518201920 1 Social Security and Child Support data are attributed to hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address, Barnsley data includes all cases attributed to the Barnsley Venue. 2 Average Waiting Time is interpreted as the Average Clearance Time - the time taken for appeal receipt to outcome. Includes appealsdisposed of and is inclusive of both those cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need of a tribunal hearing. 3 Includes Employment and Support Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Reassessments). 4 Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) replaced Disability Living Allowance on 8 April 2013, and also includes Personal Independence Payment Clams (Reassessments). 5 Provisional data subject to change. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data available. The data may differ slightly to that of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date. Clearance times are dependent on several factors, such as hearing capacity at the venue closest to the appellant, or the local availability of Tribunal panel members. Other factors might include the availability of the appellant or their representative, or the provision of further evidence. Latest figures indicate that PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these under 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned. For ESA thee figure is only 8% of decisions made were appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.

Ministry of Justice: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Dr Phillip Lee: MoJ adopted the cross-government policy on Shared Parental Leave (SPL). This was published prior to the 5th April 2015 implementation date to ensure that all employees were aware of the new legislative provision. The SPL policy is published on the department’s intranet pages and is accessible to all employees. The policy is supported by guidance on the process and includes support tools for employees and managers. The intranet page includes links to the gov.uk SPL calculator and the ACAS website. The total number of male MoJ staff taking SPL with pay, between 5th April 2015 and 31st December 2017 is 98, with the average length of SPL with pay, being 110 days.

Youth Custody: Costs

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost to the public purse is for a place in a (a) Young Offenders Institution, (b) Secure Treatment Centre and (c) Secure Children’s Home.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there is a difference in the cost to the public purse of a child placed in a secure residential accommodation (a) on remand and (b) for other reasons.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice and Youth Custody Service have provided average cost per place per year for Secure Children’s Homes, Secure Training Centres and under-18 Young Offender Institutions and these costs are set out in Table 1. The prices used are for 2016-17 which are the latest available figures.Table 1: Average price per place per year of secure Children’s Homes, Secure Training Centres and Under-18 Young Offender InstitutionsSectorAverage price per place per year (to the nearest £'000)Secure Children's Homes (SCHs)£210,000Secure Training Centres (STCs)£160,000Under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs)£76,000The services commissioned in secure residential accommodation are done so on the basis of meeting the individual needs of the young people accommodated there. There is not a standardised bed price for those placed in secure accommodation for either justice or welfare reasons.

Courts: Opening Hours

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to allow courts in England and Wales to hear cases (a) in the evening and (b) at weekends.

Lucy Frazer: Magistrates’ Courts across England and Wales routinely sit on Saturdays to hear custody cases and warrants where required. As part of the HM Courts & Tribunals Service Reform Programme, a series of pilots have been proposed to test options for hearing cases in the Crown Court, Magistrates’ Courts and Civil & Family courts between 8am to 8:30pm. I am considering the feedback on the proposals and will make an announcement in due course.

Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in prison are not being held in relation to a criminal case.

Rory Stewart: This information is available in table 1.1 of the document “Prison population: 31 March 2018” at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2017

Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2014 and were subsequently re-recruited.

Rory Stewart: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2015 and were subsequently re-recruited.

Rory Stewart: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2016 and were subsequently re-recruited.

Rory Stewart: I can confirm that there were no voluntary early departure exercises covering prison officers undertaken in 2016.

Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2017 and were subsequently re-recruited.

Rory Stewart: I can confirm that there were no voluntary early departure exercises covering prison officers undertaken in 2017.

Youth Justice Board: Finance

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the real terms change was in grant allocation from his Department to the Youth Justice Board between 2010-11 and 2018-19.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the real terms change was in grant allocation from his Department to the Youth Justice Board between 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Dr Phillip Lee: The real terms change in grant-in-aid paid to the Youth Justice Board from Ministry of Justice for the periods between a) 2010-2011 and 2018-2019 and b) 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 is given below. PeriodReal Terms Change £M2010-2011 to 2018-2019-3742017-2018 to 2018-2019-50 The reduction reflects the transfer of the budget for the Youth Custody Service from the Youth Justice Board to the HM Prison and Probation Service in September 2017. The real terms change also reflects reductions in costs of custody resulting from reduced numbers of juveniles in custody, reductions in operational costs and other efficiencies made by the Youth Justice Board. The average number of juveniles in custody reduced from 2,040 in 2010-2011 to 903 in 2017-2018, reduction of 1,136. The data for 2017-2018 is provisional and the data for 2018-2019 is not available yet.

Ministry Of Justice: Contracts

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2018 to Question 136385, on Ministry of Justice: Contracts, what types of costs are included under the (a) ad hoc, (b) hard variable, (c) soft variable and (d) management variable categories.

Rory Stewart: An explanation of the types of cost are as follows: Ad hoc: Requests from MoJ for additional services and works outside of the fixed fee. Hard Variable and Soft Variable: Services that are not included within the fixed fee, e.g. vandalism. “Hard” variable services relate to the physical fabric of a building (e.g. building maintenance). “Soft” variable services relate to the services that support a building (e.g. cleaning) Management Variable: Management costs associated with variable costs.

Reoffenders

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons reoffending rates for prison sentences and community sentences are not both counted from the time of sentencing.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry’s proven reoffending rates are measured from the date of sanction for those receiving a non-custodial sentence and the date of release for those receiving custodial sentences, in line with most international studies. The Ministry takes this approach because it mainly reflects the period when an offender is most at risk of re-offending in the community.

Treasury

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money from the public purse was spent on tax-free childcare in 2017-18.

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on tax-free childcare in the financial year 2018-19 to date.

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, (a) how much his Department has allocated to spend on and (b) what recent estimate his Department has made of its total spending on tax-free childcare for the financial year 2018-19.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 19 March 2018 (PQ 133037).

Tax Evasion

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on its review into the Panama Papers; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: I refer the Honourable Member for Coventry South to my response to question 105360 on 12 October 2017.

Business: Loans

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK domestic lending by banks to UK businesses.

John Glen: The Bank of England publish information about UK lending in its monthly Money and Credit statistical release. As of March 2018, the Bank of England estimates that outstanding lending to UK businesses by monetary financial institutions, which includes banks, was £359.3bn and outstanding lending to households was £1,376bn.

Air Passenger Duty

Steve Double: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to conduct a review of the effect of air passenger duty on tourism in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

Robert Jenrick: The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review, and any changes will be announced at fiscal events.

Pensions: Taxation

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the viability of enabling men to contribute to the pension of their spouse on the same basis as the contribution that they make to their own and with the same tax advantages.

John Glen: It is already possible for individuals without earnings to save into a pension and receive relief. Individuals can make contributions of up to £2,880 each year to a personal pension, self-invested personal pension, or stakeholder pension and receive basic rate income tax relief at, currently, 20% or £720 on their contribution. These contributions can be funded by a working partner. Since the UK’s income tax system is based on the principle of independent taxation, it would not be possible to allow a working partner to contribute to a pension on the same basis as their own.

Debts: Advisory Services

Sir David Crausby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) publicise and (b) support debt advice services.

John Glen: The government-commissioned Money Advice Service (MAS) funds centrally-coordinated, publicly-funded debt advice. MAS spent just under £49m to provide over 440,000 debt advice sessions in 2016-17. This year, MAS’ budget will rise to over £56m – enough to provide support to 530,000 people. To support this work, the government is also setting up a new single financial guidance body, which will bring together public-funded money and pensions guidance, and debt advice services. The new body will enable the public to get support with all aspects of their financial lives quickly and easily.

Credit Unions

Sir David Crausby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve and promote access to credit unions.

John Glen: The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector. To improve access to credit unions, government has:· In April 2018, announced increased funding for a scheme which incentivises credit union membership in areas at risk of being targeted by loan sharks. This will help vulnerable people to borrow and save with a safe and responsible financial provider, and promote credit unions as an alternative source of credit.· At Autumn Budget 2017, announced that the credit union ‘common bond’ limit, which applies to credit unions whose membership is based around a local area, would be raised from 2 to 3 million. This change came into force in April this year, and will allow the larger credit unions to expand and help the sector to consolidate.· In 2014, raised the statutory cap on the total interest a credit union can charge on loans from 2 to 3% per month. This has allowed credit unions to expand into new markets, and compete more effectively with other lenders.

Welfare Tax Credits

Sir David Crausby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department overpaid in tax credit claims in the last financial year; and what the estimated cost is of recovering those overpayments.

Elizabeth Truss: The latest tax credit overpayment statistics available relate to the financial year 2015-16 and statistics relating to the financial year 2016-17 are due to be released this summer. Based on the available statistics relating to 2015-16, there were 1.4m overpaid tax credit awards, which amounted to £1.572m in overpayments. This figure can be found on page 8 of the Child and Working Tax Credits, Finalised Annual Awards, Supplement on Payments National Statistics, and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/617181/Child_and_Working_Tax_Credits_statistics_finalised_annual_awards__supplement_on_payments_-_2015_to_2016.pdf Information regarding the estimated cost of recovering such overpayments can only be made available at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits

Sir David Crausby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of unclaimed entitlement to tax credits in the last financial year.

Elizabeth Truss: The latest published estimates on take-up of tax credits are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-benefit-child-tax-credit-ctc-and-working-tax-credit-wtc-take-up-rates-2015-to-2016The publication includes estimates of unclaimed tax credit entitlements for 2015-16. 2016-17 estimates are expected to be released in December 2018.

Financial Services: Education

Sir David Crausby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to improve access to financial education.

John Glen: Government policy on financial education and capability focuses on ensuring that people have the confidence and skills they need to successfully engage with their finances. To this end the Government established the Money Advice Service (MAS), which provides free-to-use financial guidance and coordinates the UK’s Financial Capability Strategy. This is a 10-year strategy which aims to gather evidence and support financial education and capability initiatives that are proven to work.Moving forward, the Government has legislated to merge the functions of MAS with those of The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) and Pension Wise, to create a Single Financial Guidance Body, which will simplify the existing public financial guidance landscape. The Government’s commitment to improve people’s financial capability and the provision of financial education is reflected in the new body’s strategic function to develop and coordinate a national strategy which will build on and further progress MAS’s work on financial capability.It is also particularly important that children and young people receive financial education to help them shape their financial habits later in life. This is why financial literacy was made statutory within the national curriculum in England in 2014, as part of the curriculum for citizenship education for 11-16 year olds.

Treasury: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Robert Jenrick: The number of male staff to take shared parental leave in the period April 2017 to March 2018 inclusive was 11 and the average length of time taken was 82 days

Monetary Policy

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the liquidity introduced into long-term credit markets by Bank of England quantitative easing is disbursed to the real economy.

John Glen: Monetary policy, including quantitative easing, is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, which has the primary objective, set out in law, of maintaining price stability, the value of money relative to the goods and services it is used to purchase.

Further Education: VAT

Rachael Maskell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to exempt further education colleges from paying VAT.

Mel Stride: Education provided by further education (FE) colleges is either outside the scope of VAT or classified as ‘exempt’ under the VAT Act 1994. This means that FE colleges do not apply VAT on the education they provide to their pupils. Under European law, it is not possible to recover tax incurred on activities outside the scope of VAT or in the course of making ‘exempt’ supplies. Our future relationship with the EU, including on VAT, is subject to negotiation and any future decisions on VAT will continue to be taken in line with the normal Budget process.

EU Grants and Loans

Jo Platt: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2018 to Question 143241, whether Shared Prosperity Fund will be operational on 30 March 2019.

Elizabeth Truss: We will launch the UK Shared Prosperity Fund following the UK’s departure from the European Union.The implementation period included within the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the EU means that we will see all parts of the UK receive their full allocation of structural funds from the EU’s 2014-2020 budget.The Industrial Strategy White Paper set out that we intend to consult this year on the precise design and priorities for the fund. Further details on the operation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be set out following this consultation.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Dr Caroline Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of new-build properties purchased by (a) owner-occupiers and (b) buy-to-let landlords in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Dominic Raab: The Department does not hold this data.

Human Rights: EU Grants and Loans

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on which UK organisations are in receipt of funding from the EU Rights Equality and Citizenship Programme.

Jake Berry: The Department does not hold information about UK organisations which are in receipt of funding from the EU Rights Equality and Citizenship Programme. The programme is managed by the European Commission and information about the funding programme can be found on the European Union’s website at the following link:http://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants1/closed-calls/index_en.htm.

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, how many and which (a) health and wellbeing boards, (b) local authorities and (c) clinical commissioning groups have yet to sign off plans for the use of their respective local authorities' share of the funding for (i) 2018-19 and (ii) 2019-2020.

Rishi Sunak: The £2 billion for adult social care announced at Spring Budget 2017 forms part of the improved Better Care Fund which is required to be pooled into the Better Care Fund. All local Better Care Funds covering 2017-19 were signed off by Health and Wellbeing Boards in 2017, following agreement by the relevant local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups. The Planning Requirements for 2019-20 are not yet published.

Social Services: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, how long it took on average for (a) health and wellbeing boards, (b) local authorities and (c) clinical commissioning groups to sign-off plans for the use of their respective local authorities' share of the funding for 2017-18.

Rishi Sunak: In total 148 areas submitted agreed Better Care Fund (BCF) plans by 11 September 2017 in line with the Planning Requirements for the BCF in 2017-2019. Two areas were not been able to agree their BCF plans for the deadline. These two plans were submitted on 29 September and 13 October 2017.

Local Government Finance: North West

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the amount of money spent by local authorities in the North West on sports and leisure in each of the last five financial years.

Rishi Sunak: Over the course of this spending period the Government has made available over £200 billion of funding for local government, for councils to spend on locally determined priorities, including sports facilities.Sport England works with a wide range of local authorities, providing expert advice and funding to sustain and increase the number of people playing sport regularly.It invests in local authority facilities projects through its range of funding programmes to make sure that facilities are modern, accessible and in the right places to have the most impact.Full details of the local government finance settlement are here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2018-to-2019

Right to Buy Scheme: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes in York have been sold under the right to buy scheme in each of the last 10 years.

Dominic Raab: Data on Right to Buy sales by local authority is publically available in Live Tables 685 and 691 at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the full list of buildings identified as having cladding which requires removing and replacing.

Dominic Raab: As at 12 April, our testing programme at Building Research Establishment (BRE) has identified 317 buildings with Aluminium Composite Materials (ACM) cladding in England. Of these, 304 have cladding systems which the expert panel advise are unlikely to meet current building regulations guidance and therefore present fire hazards on buildings over 18 metres. (Of the 304 buildings: 158 are social housing, 14 are public buildings, 101 are private residential and 31 are student residential.) We publish the most recent figures on the Government website every month.Every month the Department publishes its latest figures in a data release. The latest can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-april-2018

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, what plans his Department has for similar support for leaseholders in private blocks.

Dominic Raab: In the private sector, building owners are responsible for making buildings safe. We have been clear we think they or the developers of the buildings should pay and not pass costs on to leaseholders, either funding the work themselves or looking at alternative routes such as insurance claims, warranties or action to ensure those responsible for erecting unsafe cladding pay. Leaseholders can challenge the costs in courts if they are unreasonable.

High Rise Flats: Plymouth

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated from the public purse for recladding tower blocks that failed safety tests will be allocated to the three tower blocks in Mount Wise, Plymouth.

Dominic Raab: The Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of potentially dangerous Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding on buildings over 18 metres owned by social landlords, with costs estimated at £400 million.This will ensure that they can focus their efforts on making ACM cladding systems safe for the buildings they own.We want to allocate this funding for remediation as soon as possible and will announce more details shortly.

Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, whether that funding will cover buildings where such work has already been paid for.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, whether that funding will cover buildings where dangerous and flammable cladding is found that is not comprised of aluminium composite material.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, what definition of unsafe cladding will be used for the purposes of that programme.

Dominic Raab: Local authorities or housing associations who have already started or completed remediation work on Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding will be eligible for this funding, as well as those yet to undertake the work. We want to get funding to local authorities and housing associations as soon as possible, so that they can focus on the job of making their building safe. We will announce more details shortly about how councils and housing associations can apply for funding, including conditions attached to the grant.

Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, whether that funding has been provided by HM Treasury as an addition to his Department's existing budget.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, and whether there is a limit on the total amount of spending set aside for that work.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, what assessment he has made of the effect of that announcement on affordable house building by councils and housing associations in each financial year to 2020-21.

Dominic Raab: The Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of dangerous Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding on buildings owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million.We want to get funding to local authorities and housing associations as soon as possible, so that they can focus on the job of replacing cladding. We will announce more details shortly about how councils and housing associations can apply for funding, including conditions attached to the grant.The money is coming from the Affordable Homes Programme in this spending review period. However, the same amount of money will be replaced in the programme in 2021-22. Our Affordable Homes Programme remains over £9 billion, with £400 million of that now available in 2021-22. This responds to calls from social landlords for longer term certainty of grant funding for new homes. The programme will still deliver the same number of homes, but this does mean that fewer homes will be delivered in the short term. However, those housing associations and local authorities may have already had to scale back their existing house building plans to pay for new cladding or undertake other essential fire safety work but because we are providing grant funding, those landlords affected will be able to continue to focus on building new homes and undertaking other essential repairs and maintenance.

Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, what plans he has to ensure that buildings on which that work is carried out meet high energy efficiency standards and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 16 May 2018, what the timescale is for that work to be completed.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in social housing, published on 18 May 2018, whether he will require that cladding fitted under that programme is entirely non-combustible.

Dominic Raab: We will announce more details shortly about how councils and housing associations can apply for funding, including conditions attached to the grant.

Private Rented Housing

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to work with the English Housing Survey to gather information on private room renting in England.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government funds the English Housing Survey to collect information about the housing circumstances and the physical condition of homes in England. Every year, the survey interviews around 13,300 households and carries out a physical inspection of 6,200 homes. Included in the interview are questions about whether anyone living in the accommodation pays rents to the household as a lodger.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what transitional protections are in place to ensure that claimants of employment and support allowance retain their severe disability premium when they move on to universal credit.

Alok Sharma: We will start to move legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit as part of our Managed Migration process from 2019. At this point, claimants will receive transitional protection if their overall Universal Credit entitlement would be less than under the old system, provided that their circumstances remain the same. Currently, claimants only move from existing benefits to Universal Credit through natural migration when they experience a change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to benefit. Their entitlement is then calculated on the rules of their new benefit. This is a long-established principle which we maintain for Universal Credit. In the case of claimants currently in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, we will continue to reflect on the matter.

Social Security Benefits: Mental Illness

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions have been imposed on (a) jobseekers allowance and (b) universal credit claimants who are experiencing mental health problems in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring the support that we give, and any conditionality requirements to the specific circumstances of the individuals. Sanctions are only used in a minority of cases and when people fail to meet their conditionality requirements without good reason. A Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence they provide, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

Vacancies: Internet

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether data will be collected by her Department from claimants using the Find a Job website.

Kit Malthouse: User data is collected in line with forthcoming GDPR legislation, to make it as easy as possible for customers of the Find a Job service to search and apply for job adverts relevant to them. Further information is available on the site – https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/privacy.html

Access to Work Programme

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 March 2018 on Access to Work, HCWS563, how many people will be affected by the increased funding cap.

Sarah Newton: As a result of extensive engagement between Ministers, officials and a broad range of customers and stakeholders, DWP raised the limit of the cap to twice average salaries (£57,200) from with effect from April 2018. Based on recorded Access to Work spend in the 12 months prior to the drafting of the Equality Analysis, we estimate that approximately 120 transitionally protected customers would be likely to be affected by the cap had it remained at 1.5 times average salaries (£43,100) this year. The increase in the cap to twice average salaries (£57,200) with effect from April 2018 raises it above the annual recorded spend of around 80 of those customers, leaving approximately 40 existing customers whose awards may be capped. These figures are estimates based on customers’ recorded spend patterns, which fluctuate depending on a range of factors. It is important to note that the new cap figure amounts to almost 90% of affected customers’ average recorded spend over the previous 12 months. These figures are outlined in ‘An update to the equality analysis for the 'Future of Access to Work May 2015'’, which was published on 9 May 2018 and may be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-access-to-work-an-update-to-the-may-2015-equality-analysis

Flexible Support Fund

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 135706, on Flexible Support Fund, what estimate he has made of the average funding received per person from the Flexible Support Fund in each of the last five financial years for which data is available.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have claimed universal credit in each month of the last three years for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: The information requested on Universal Credit claimants is already published and in the public domain. It can be accessed at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html.

Employment and Support Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants who have been sent an ESA50 form have not returned that form by the deadline and have subsequently ceased to be eligible for the assessment rate of employment and support allowance.

Sarah Newton: The number of claimants disallowed ESA following failure to return form ESA50 (Decision Type: WCA – Failed to return ESA50) is shown in the table below:  ESA Claimants - Failed to return ESA50  2017/18Disallowed - Failed to return ESA50AprMayJunJulAugSep7,1938,4907,1375,5376,4276,348OctNovDecJanFebMar5,8465,6714,3156,1494,3075,540 We know that some claimants who fail to meet the original deadline for submission of their ESA50 subsequently provide good cause. This would lead to their claim being considered and either allowed or disallowed. This means that we cannot take the number of claimants who have been disallowed for failure to return their ESA50 as being the same as the number as those ceasing to be eligible for the assessment rate of Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

Hyperactivity: Employment

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace assessments in Scotland for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in each year since 2015.

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of requests for workplace assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Scotland which were completed in each year since 2015.

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of completed workplace assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Scotland which were followed up with recommendations for work place changes and support in each year since 2015.

Sarah Newton: We have interpreted your questions to be about Access to Work workplace assessments. The data requested are not held centrally and to provide them would incur disproportionate cost.

Support for Mortgage Interest: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey constituency his Department has written to on the change insupportformortgageinterest from a benefit to a loan.

Kit Malthouse: There were an estimated 16,000 SMI benefit claimants in the North West. The Department has written to all SMI benefit claimants on the change to a loan. Estimates are not available at geographies smaller than Government Office Region on the number of claimants that the Department has written to on the changes to SMI. Figure rounded to the nearest 1,000 cases.

Support for Mortgage Interest: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) the North West and (b) Wallasey constituency were in receipt of support for mortgage interest in each year since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: The table below gives the Department’s caseload estimates in the North West for Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) benefit claimants by financial year since 2010.  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Caseload, thousands3230272422201616Table 1: Estimated SMI benefit caseload in the North West by calendar year Estimates are not available at geographies smaller than Government Office Region. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000 cases.

Support for Mortgage Interest: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of support for mortgage interest resident in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey constituency have applied for a loan under the new scheme.

Kit Malthouse: Data on the number of SMI claimants who have applied for a loan at the geographies requested is not available.

Personal Independence Payment

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an exemption to the 28-day limit for temporarily ceasing personal independence payments for claimants that are in hospital to aid that patient's treatment and recovery.

Sarah Newton: Where someone is maintained free of charge while undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution funded by the NHS, payment of (but not entitlement to) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ceases after 28 days. This is on the basis that the NHS is responsible for the entirety of the person’s disability-related extra costs and to pay PIP in addition would be a duplication of public funds intended for the same purpose. Once someone is discharged from hospital, payment of PIP recommences from the date of discharge.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department plans proactively to advise women affected by changes in the state pension age of the official complaints procedure to the Independent Case Examiner's Office.

Guy Opperman: The Department has a two tier complaints process which considers formal complaints about our service. Complaints received from women born in the 1950s and affected by changes in State Pension age are handled in line with the overall Departmental complaints process.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Incinerators

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's Pollution Inventory of 2015, what method of monitoring PM10 and PM2.5 emissions were used by the (a) six cement works, (b) 33 chemical works, (c) 13 energy from waste sites, (d) 42 food and drink works and (e) 19 hazardous waste sites that reported on emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 in 2015.

George Eustice: The Environment Agency (EA) does not hold this information centrally and could only provide it at disproportionate cost. The EA’s Pollution Inventory Reporting General Guidance describes the different methods which operators can use to determine releases. There are: Measurement – based on standardised or accepted methodsCalculation – based on nationally or internationally agreed estimation methods and emission factors that represent the industrial sectors; andEstimation – these are non-standardised and are based on expert judgement.

Fire And Rescue Services: Procurement

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) powered rescue boats, (b) non-powered rescue boats, (c) wading teams, (d) water incident managers, and (e) high volume pumps have been purchased by fire services in England through Government grants in each of the last 10 years.

George Eustice: We do not hold centrally the asset registers of individual Fire and Rescue Authorities. 46 High Volume Pumps were provided by 2016 to FRAs in England under the Home Office New Dimension Programme. Annual grants to support the national resilience HVP capability are paid to 38 authorities under the New Burdens arrangements. Some fire and rescue services have procured their own HVP to facilitate a local response. The government maintains a national register of over 130 specialist flood rescue teams with associated equipment on standby to be deployed across the country to aid rescue efforts during a flood incident. This includes the voluntary sector and FRAs When the register was set up in response to the Pitt Review (2008), Defra launched a one-off grant scheme of £2.5m to purchase new flood rescue boats, support the establishment of flood rescue teams and train tactical advisors. In 2017/18, a total grant of £750,000 was provided to help maintain the assets on the register and for training.

Beaches: Seaweed

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the removal of sea weed from beaches on the eco-diversity of the beach habitat.

George Eustice: The evidence on the effects of the removal of seaweed from breaches on the eco-diversity of beach habitat is limited. However, in 2014, Natural England produced an advice note ‘Seaweed Harvesting, Natural England’s Advice’. 



Seaweed Harvesting - Natural England's Advice 
(PDF Document, 706.74 KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Procurement

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote sustainable procurement throughout government; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra is the lead department for coordinating the Greening Government Commitments, which set out the actions UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment. Progress towards targets is reported in the Annual Report on the Greening Government Commitments. These commitments include specific requirements for departments to report on how sustainability is embedded in their procurement policies and procedures, including managing sustainability risks within the supply chain. The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, published in January 2018, includes a commitment to remove all single use consumer plastics from central government offices. This commitment will be delivered and reported under the sustainable procurement reporting section of the Greening Government Commitments. A number of departments, including Defra, are already taking steps to eliminate single use consumer plastics from their operations. Plastic drinking cups have been removed from Defra offices and replaced by glasses, and plastic coffee cups are soon to be banned from office catering outlets. The department is currently tendering for a new catering contract which will prohibit single use plastics from the summer of 2018.

Coeliac Disease: Food

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to increase the availability of gluten-free food to consumers.

George Eustice: Promotion of individual food brands is a matter for the food industry. However, it is very important that food marketed as ‘gluten free’ or ‘very low gluten’ is correctly labelled and complies with the relevant legislation. The Food Standards Agency and Local Authority Trading Standards Departments are responsible for ensuring compliance with the relevant regulations.

Association of Dogs and Cats Homes

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the proportion of animal rescue centres in England which are members of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes.

George Eustice: Defra does not hold up to date estimates of the numbers of animal rescue homes, and therefore cannot provide an estimate of the proportion that are members of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes.

Home Office

Chemical Weapons: Salisbury

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken since the chemical contamination incident in Salisbury to ensure that medical counter measures are in place to protect police officers attending such incidents.

Mr Ben Wallace: The safety of responders addressing a CBRN event is paramount. To that end we work closely with scientists and responders to ensure that the responders avoid contact with hazardous materials as much as possible. This includes the use of cordons to keep them away from contact with materials, and, for those that do enter contaminated areas, the provision of world class Personal Protective Equipment. In the event that medical countermeasures are required for the police responders, national stockpiles of medical countermeasures (medicines and materials) are held to treat casualties. These are maintained to provide a specific response to risk in the National Risk Assessment based on clinical and scientific advice. These measures are regularly reviewed.

Home Office: Databases

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessments he has made of (a) the quality of big data which his Department collects and b) the effectiveness of big data in his Department's policy formulation processes.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has not undertaken a formal benchmarking of data quality across the department, however individual data assets are subject to ongoing review to ensure they remain accurate, up to date and relevant to the purpose(s) for which they were collected.

Domestic Violence: Homicide

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims detailed in domestic homicide Reviews were classified as  (a) migrant to the UK and (b) no recourse to public funds in the last three years.

Victoria Atkins: This information is not collated centrally.

Offences against Children: Internet

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of the protections against child grooming which have been put in place on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by those who own and operate those social media platforms.

Victoria Atkins: Technology companies have a critical role to play in preventing paedophiles from using their platforms, including those who seek to groom children. In February 2018 and November 2017 the former Home Secretary met with social media companies to discuss what they are doing to prevent child sexual abuse material on their platforms and made clear that social media companies need to work constructively with law enforcement and government in order to ensure their platforms have the appropriate procedures in place in order that their users are safeOn 20 May the Home Office and Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced joint plans to consider what legislative steps could be taken to improve the response to child sexual exploitation and other online harms. Over the coming months we will be working with industry and other stakeholders with the intention of launching a White Paper later this year.

Asylum

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Refugee Action report, Waiting in the dark, published on 16 May 2018, what steps he plans to take to improve the (a) quality and (b) speed of the asylum decision making process; and if he will provide independent support and information to asylum seekers about the asylum system when they apply for asylum.

Caroline Nokes: The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection. All claims for asylum are considered on their individual merits in line with Home Office guidance, and where people establish a genuine need for protection, or a well founded fear of persecution, refugee status will be granted.The Home Office has plans to improve the speed at which outstanding asylum claims are decided. These include rolling recruitment campaigns to maintain decision maker levels, a staff retention strategy to ensure it retains its highly skilled asylum decision makers, and the further expansion of digital processes to increase caseworking flexibility.Furthermore, the Home Office issues an information leaflet to asylum claimants at the point of claim that outlines the process and their responsibilities.

Scotland Office

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the tendering process for the new solid support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Ofcom on access by third party telephone providers to Government helplines which are advertised as free to customers; and if he will take steps to prohibit such access.

Oliver Dowden: Government Helpline services are procured from a wide range of Telecommunication providers in the UK. These services are contracted by Government to the telecommunication market in accordance with both Ofcom regulation and the Data Protection Act. As such third party telecommunications providers are an integral part of the Government supply chain, and Government is taking no steps to remove third party Telecommunications providers, so that the UK Citizen can communicate with Government easily.

Suicide

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the suicide rates were in (a) Easington Constituency, (b) County Durham, (c) North East of England and (d) the UK in the last 12 months.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 142.8 KB)

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Staff

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on staff changes for his Department.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of any decrease in its staffing on its ability to carry out its remit.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 21 May 2018



The Department for International Trade (DIT) inherited a Spending Review 2015 settlement that requires it to generate efficiencies in its services. The Department is prioritising its work, monitoring staffing and capability and will ensure it can fulfil its responsibilities. DIT will continue to work with the Treasury as it does this.During the last year the Department has continued to build organisational capability and capacity and has recruited over 900 people from across the Civil Service and externally.

Department for International Trade: Paternity Leave

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

Greg Hands: The number of male employees in the Department for International Trade (including those working overseas and UK Export Finance) who have taken Shared Parental Leave since the department was created in July 2016 was 4 people. The average length of the leave taken was 82 days.

Exports: Arms Trade

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will rescind all export licences allowing the export of arms to Israel.

Graham Stuart: The Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operates one of the most robust export control regimes in the world. Export licence applications for all countries, including Israel, are assessed carefully against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. We will not grant a licence if to do so would be inconsistent with these Consolidated Criteria. We are keeping the situation in Israel and Gaza under close review and consider the latest circumstances when assessing licence applications. The Government will not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that exports might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Extant licences will be revoked if the exports are no longer consistent with the Consolidated Criteria.

Turkey: Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what diplomatic steps the Government has taken to support UK industry in its pursuit of Turkish TF-X fighter aircraft contracts.

Graham Stuart: The UK Government has provided a coordinated, joined up package of support to those UK companies pursuing opportunities as part of the TF-X fighter aircraft programme. This includes Government to Government bilateral meetings and high level interventions, to support the ongoing diplomatic liaison between business and government (in the UK and Turkey) over the last three years.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Boxing: Safety

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans to improve the safety of white collar boxing events; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: The safety of everyone taking part in sport and physical activity is vital. There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues. It is not the role of government to regulate sport. Amateur and professional boxing is self-regulated by England Boxing and the British Boxing Board of Control respectively. It is the responsibility of individual white collar boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.

Cricket

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the gross value added to the (a) UK and (b) East Midlands economy of (i) international and (ii) county-level cricket in the most recent year for which data is available.

Tracey Crouch: Sport makes a significant economic contribution to the UK. According to my department’s Sport Satellite Account, in 2016 the value of the sports economy was just over £37 billion (gross value added). I look forward to the upcoming 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in England and Wales, with games taking place in Nottingham.

Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what new models of financing the repair and maintenance of church buildings are being considered by the Government as part of the pilot scheme under the Taylor Review on the sustainability of English churches and cathedrals.

Michael Ellis: The Taylor Review: Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals, was an independent review that considered how these iconic buildings can become more sustainable and ensure that repair works are undertaken in a timely way. The subsequent pilots are testing, over the next two years, the new model of support proposed by the review. This involves:how effective the roles of a Fabric Support Officer and a Community Support Officer can be in both ensuring regular repairs are undertaken and in opening up wider links between listed places of worship and the wider community;the level of need for a 'minor repairs' and a 'major repairs' fund;how best practice can be better shared between owners of listed places of worship in ensuring these buildings are properly maintained;how the Taylor Review model can be applied across all faiths and denominations

Voluntary Work: Young People

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of participation in the National Citizen Service; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: The Department has set ambitious targets for participation in the National Citizen Service to drive growth. Although the 2017 target was narrowly missed, the NCS Trust have achieved year on year growth and a record 99,179 participants in 2017.

Tourism: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of tourism in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Michael Ellis: VisitBritain data shows that between 2014-2016, the West Midlands received 3.4 million domestic visits, spending £561 million. In the same period, Coventry received 534,000 visits with with £74 million spent. In 2016, the West Midlands received 2.2 million inbound overnight visits with Coventry receiving 177,000. Spending by overnight visitors accounted for £855m in the West Midlands and £135m in Coventry. From January to September 2017, growth in visits to the West Midlands was up 10%. We do not yet have data for Coventry for 2017.

Women and Equalities

Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had since her appointment as Minister for Women and Equalities with (a) disabled people and (b) Cabinet colleagues on the future of the Access to Elected Office Fund; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: Representation of disabled people in our Parliaments, Assemblies and councils remains far too low. Data collected by the Electoral Commission in 2017 suggests that people with a disability or health problem are also under-represented in standing for office. We believe it is primarily political parties’ responsibility to support their candidates properly, just as they must also support disabled employees, but within this, there will be ways the government can help too. That is why, following discussion with other departments, the Minister for Women and Equalities announced that over the next 12 months the Government Equalities Office will, with others, undertake a programme of work to help political parties to best support their disabled candidates and to consider how independent candidates can be supported, too. While that work is under way, we will provide up to £250,000 to support disabled candidates for elections in the forthcoming year. These arrangements replace the Access to Elected Office pilot fund, which closed after the 2015 general election: further announcements will be made about them in due course.

Autism: Equality

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure people who have autism are given equal opportunities in employment.

Victoria Atkins: We are committed to improving conditions for disabled people and those with related conditions in their private lives, in their communities and in employment. The Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination for people with particular protected characteristics, such as disability, in relation to work. This covers all aspects of employment including advertising and applying for posts, the interview process, promotion, training and dismissal. This applies to anyone who meets the Act’s definition of disability. Employers are also required to make reasonable adjustments for employees they know have disabilities to ensure that they are not put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with persons who are not disabled. Failure to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person could amount to disability discrimination and a breach of the Act. Building on these statutory protections, the Government is committed to getting one million more disabled people into work over the next 10 years. Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability, published last year, sets out the Government’s strategy for helping people with disabilities or health conditions, including learning difficulties and autism, enter and remain in employment. Other support includes:Disability Confident: the campaign to work with employers to challenge attitudes towards disability, including learning difficulties and autism. A Disability Confident Autism Toolkit has been developed to provide comprehensive information on autism and hidden impairments, as well as guidance on employment and local authority services.Access to Work: the discretionary grant scheme which offers advice and practical and financial support above the level of reasonable adjustments to disabled people who are in work or about to start work. Access to Work has a Hidden Impairment Specialist Team that gives advice and guidance to help employers support employees with conditions such as autism.

Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how much funding her Department has allocated for legal proceedings in relation to the case brought in the Supreme Court on 14 May 2018 by Keidon & Steinfold on civil partnerships.

Victoria Atkins: Since the start of the proceedings in 2014, the Government has spent £64,923 in legal costs as a result of this judicial review. The case is still ongoing, and so we are likely to incur further costs.The Department has a central budget for legal costs, but does not allocate budgets to individual cases as the costs for each case varies.

Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to make a decision on the future of the Access to Elected Office Fund; what assessment she has been made of the potential merits of reinstating this fund; and what information the Government holds on the (a) number of disabled candidates who have stood for office in each of the past five years and (b) the proportion of candidates who have stood for office in each of the last five years who have disabilities.

Victoria Atkins: Representation of disabled people in our Parliaments, Assemblies and councils remains far too low. Data collected by the Electoral Commission in 2017 suggests that people with a disability or health problem are also under-represented in standing for office, although the data in the form requested in the question is not held centrally. We believe it is primarily political parties’ responsibility to support their candidates properly, just as they must also support disabled employees, but within this, there will be ways the government can help too. That is why the Minister for Women and Equalities has recently announced that over the next 12 months the Government Equalities Office will, with others, undertake a programme of work to help political parties to best support their disabled candidates and to consider how independent candidates can be supported, too. While that work is under way, we will provide up to a quarter of a million pounds to support disabled candidates for elections in the forthcoming year. These arrangements replace the Access to Elected Office pilot fund, which closed after the 2015 general election: further announcements will be made about them in due course.

Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent representations she has received on extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples.

Victoria Atkins: Rt. Hon. Penny Mordaunt MP became the Minister for Women and Equalities on 30 April 2018. The Minister discussed the issue of civil partnership with Stonewall at a recent meeting; she has not yet had any other meetings.